Water craft



Nov. 12, 1935. E, A, MAYNARD T AL 2 2,020,792

WATER CRAFT Filed-Sept. 5, 1934 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 I 'nvento'rs' pmmAttorney NOV. 12, 1935. E MAYNARD ET AL 2,020,792

WATER CRAFT Filed Sept 5, 1934 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 BYZMMM.

Attorney Patented Nov. 12, 1935 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE Maynard,Gales Ferry, Conn.

Application September 5, 1934, Serial No. 742,786

1 Claim.

Our invention relates generally to watercraft and particularly to hullconstruction, and an important object of our invention is to provide ahull construction which produces buoyant characteristics as the resultof movement of the watercraft through or on the water.

Another important object of our invention is to provide a hullconstruction of the character indicated which takes advantage of thebuoyant effect of a combination of air and water moving in the directionopposite to the direction of movement of a watercraft or stationary withrespect to the watercraft.

It is also an important object of our invention to provide a hullconstruction including water and air tunnels in the bottom thereof, theprovision of which does not objectionably alter accepted hullconstruction or unduly reduce the interior space in the watercraft.

Other objects and advantages of our invention will be apparent from areading of the following description in connection with the drawings,wherein for purposes of illustration we have shown a preferredembodiment of our invention.

In the drawings:--

Figure 1 is a plan view of the bottom of a hull constructed inaccordance with the invention.

Figure 2 is a side elevational view of Figure 1.

Figure 3 is an elevational view of the front of the hull.

Figure 4 is an elevational view of the stern of the hull.

Figure 5 is a transverse vertical sectional view through the hullshowing the contour of the air and water tunnels.

Referring in detail to the drawings, the numeral 5 generally designatesa hollow construction hull having the pointed bow part 6, the straightsides I, 8 and the square stem 9. It is to be observed that the portionsillustrated are illustrated as described to teach the invention ratherthan restrict the invention, so that the invention is equally applicableto other forms and outlines of hulls.

The bottom of the hull which is generally designated I includes the keelor center board II which extends the length of the hull, and the air andwater tunnels l2, l3, respectively.

The under part of the bow 6 is sharp and tapered and its opposite sidesmerge forwardly and gradually as indicated at M and I5, respectively,with the parts of the bottom which extend longitudinally of the hull onopposite sides of the keel II to form the air and water tunnels whichare simply parts of the bottom I0 having the upwardly curved contourshown in the drawings and extending to the rear of the hull in graduallydiminishing depth.

As the hull moves forwardly on the water the action of the sharp bow isto meet the waves and divide the same so that the resulting agitatedwater combined with air come into position at opposite sides of the keeland has the effect of rushing rearwardly through the tunnels. The 10sharp how 6 has the effect of dividing the wave into two parts, and atthe points indicated by the numerals l4 and IS the air bubbles and watermix and become an agitating mass which moves rearwardly the entirelength of the tunnels in such a way that air pockets and vacuums areproduced in the tunnels which make the hull ride as if on air cushions,so that the hull is capable of planing through the water at unusualspeed.

It is also to be noted that the buoying effect thus produced, beingbalanced on opposite sides of the hull and properly distributed forwardand rearward with respect to the hull, produces an unusually safe hullwhich cannot be readily capsized and which is easy to navigate and steerdespite a rough condition of the water.

It is to be noted that our type of hull bottom can be used on any styleor type of boat or other watercraft including toy boats, hydroplanepontoons or any water pontoons.

Therefore, it is to be definitely understood that We do not desire tolimit the application of our invention to the embodiment shown anddescribed herein, and any change or changes may be made in thematerials, and in the structure and arrangement of parts, within thespirit of the invention and the scope of the subjoined claim.

What is claimed is:--

A hull of the character described comprising a hull bottom including acentrally located keel, a pointed forward part on the bottom mergingwith the keel, said bottom having concave areas on opposite sides of thekeel extending substantially the length of the bottom and graduallydecreasing in depth toward the rear thereof to form longitudinal waterand bubble traps for increasing the stability, buoyancy, and speed ofthe hull as the hull is moved forwardly through the water, the sides ofsaid boat adjacent the front thereof being cut away forming a graduallycurved edge portion from the midpoint of the front to a point inproximity to the center of the boat.

ERNEST ALTON MAYNARD. DURWOOD GEORGE MAYNARD.

